Here is the statement released by the Summa Health Board of Directors on Wednesday afternoon, after repeated inquiries from the Beacon Journal about the no-confidence votes in Summa President and CEO Thomas Malone and his leadership and questions about the health system’s future:
“As leaders in this community and members of the Board of Directors of Summa Health, it is our responsibility to ensure that our community is served by a high-quality health system that not only improves the health and wellness of our region, but also remains a pillar of strength that helps drive Akron forward.
We also recognize that Summa Health is not only the region’s leading care provider, but also one of the largest employers. We have a responsibility to remain financially strong for our patients, our employees and for the cities that depend on us as an economic engine fueling regional growth.
Over the last two years, Summa Health has begun to reshape our organization so that we can truly create change in the health and wellness of our region. Some of [Summa’s] biggest achievements have included:
• The launch of a $350 million facilities plan that will serve as the cornerstone of our vision to dramatically improve the overall health of our community while simultaneously serving as a major economic boost to the region.
• The transformation of our organization, which has allowed us to achieve our two strongest fiscal years of the last decade.
Fitch Ratings recently reaffirmed Summa’s A- rating, while also upgrading its rating outlook from stable to positive. Moody’s Investors Service also reaffirmed both Summa’s Baa1 rating and stable outlook.
• The delivery of our vision on population health. Our accountable care organization, NewHealth Collaborative, is the only ACO in Ohio to achieve savings three years in a row through the Medicare Shared Savings Program. We also achieved a total quality score of 95 percent by making sure patients receive important preventive care and services to improve their health.
• The significant progress we have made over the past 12 months on the implementation of an integrated Electronic Medical Record, as well as the celebration of our Magnet recertification.
• The turn-around in the performance of SummaCare, which has enabled us to take great strides toward leveraging the data and expertise at our health plan for population health management.
Transformational changes like these do not come easily. And we take our responsibility seriously to set the organization’s vision and then engage with leadership regularly to ensure it is being executed.
Sometimes this work is difficult, as was the case with our recent transition from a long-time partner in emergency medicine to a new one. The Board supported the need to bring in the new emergency medicine provider.
At the same time, this situation has brought to light the need for greater engagement with our employees and physicians. Summa Health will embrace this engagement as a critical goal for the coming year, which the Board fully supports.
As we always are, the Summa Health Board of Directors is keeping a regular pulse on the operations of the organization to ensure the delivery of high-quality care that our community depends on us for. And we are committed to ensuring the execution of our vision for the organization.
We are fortunate to be joined on our journey with the tireless and dedicated Summa Health team, the physicians, employees, volunteers, donors and leaders who work daily to deliver quality, compassionate care and strengthen our organization so, that as a vital community partner, we can continue to thrive.”